Immediate full occlusal loading of dental implants using intra-oral welding technique versus conventional immediate loading. A comparative split mouth prospective clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: The rehabilitation of the partially edentulous arches with immediately loaded dental implants in cases when there is suitable bone volume and quality has been proposed by many authors.. The aim of the present study is to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of two techniques used to restore immediately loaded dental implants, both in full Occlusal loading. The first is using "Intra-oral welding" and the second is conventional loading using a conventional indexing technique for fabrication of a chair side temporary restoration. Patients and Methods: In this split mouth study,6 patients received 24implants, each patient had posterior partial Edentulism on both sides of the same arch and so the right and left sides were randomly allocated to either the test or control side: The Test side received two implants immediately loaded by intra-oral welding technique and a temporary restoration in full Occlusal loading. The Control side received two implants that were immediately loaded by indexing technique and a temporary prosthesis in full Occlusal loading also. Implants placed were tested for their primary stability using Resonance Frequency Analysis to measure the "Implant Stability Quotient"(ISQ) values immediately after insertion, 3 and 6 months later. Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) of the implants sites were accomplished postoperatively to measure the dimensions of the ridge buccolingually and to assess the amount of crestal bone resorption at 3 and 6 months intervals. In addition, standardized periapical radiographs were done to assess the interproximal bone levels at base line, one month, three and six months.. Results: Results of this study showed favorable outcomes in the "Intraoral welding" test group in terms of crestal bone resorption, soft tissue response and complications rate however there was no statistically significant difference between both groups. Conclusion: "Intra-oral welding" of dental implants may prove to be a recent technique to splint dental implants abutments together to allow for a safer alternative for clinicians seeking to perform immediate functional loading for their patients.